The Graioceli were a small Gallic tribe dwelling in the valley of

Maurienne Maurienne ( frp, Môrièna) is one of the provinces of France, provinces of Savoy, corresponding to the arrondissement of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France. It is also the original name of the capital of the province, now Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. ...

, in the modern region of

Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population of ...

, during the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

Name

They are mentioned as ''Graioceli'' (var. ''graiocaeli, gaioceli'') by

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caes ...

(mid-1st c. BC)., s.v. ''Graioceli''. The etymology of the

ethnonym An ethnonym () is a name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms (whose name of the ethnic group has been created by another group of people) and autonyms, or endonyms (whose name is created and used ...

''Graioceli'' remains unclear. It possibly contains a divine name *''Graios'' (found in ''Herculi''/''Herculeio Graio'') attached to the

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium ...

root ''ocel''-, meaning 'peak, summit, promontory'. The same stem is also present in the name of the '' Alpes Graiae''.

Geography

The Graioceli dwelled in the Maurienne Valley, around the modern towns of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and

Saint-Jean-d'Arves Saint-Jean-d'Arves (; frp, Sant-Jian-d’Ârva) is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It is a ski resort, part of the larger Les Sybelles ski area. See also *Communes of the Savoie ...

. Their territory was located the southeast of the

Allobroges The Allobroges (Gaulish: *''Allobrogis'', 'foreigner, exiled'; grc, Ἀλλοβρίγων, Ἀλλόβριγες) were a Gallic people dwelling in a large territory between the Rhône river and the Alps during the Iron Age and the Roman period. ...

, south of the

Ceutrones The Ceutrones (or Centrones) were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the Tarantaise Valley, in modern Savoie, during the Iron Age and Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Ceutrones'' by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC), ''Keútrōnes'' (Κεύτρωνε� ...

, north of the

Ucennii The Ucennii, Ucenni or Iconii were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the Romanche valley, in the Alps, during the Iron Age. Name They are mentioned as ''Ucenni'' (var. ''uceni'', ''ucermi'') by Pliny (1st c. AD) and on the Tropaeum Alpium, Pliny. ' ...

, and west of the

Medulli The Medulli (Gaulish: ''Medulloi'') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper valley of Maurienne, around present-day Modane (Savoie), during the Iron Age and Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Medullorum'' by Vitruvius (late 1st c. BC) ...

., Map 17: Lugdunum.

History

In the mid-first century BC, the Graioceli are mentioned by

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

as a tribe hostile to Rome. In what appears to be a concerted attack, they attempted to prevent his passage through the upper

Durance The Durance (; ''Durença'' in the Occitan classical norm or ''Durènço'' in the Mistralian norm) is a major river in Southeastern France. A left tributary of the Rhône, it is long. Its drainage basin is .Ceutrones The Ceutrones (or Centrones) were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the Tarantaise Valley, in modern Savoie, during the Iron Age and Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Ceutrones'' by Caesar (mid-1st c. BC), ''Keútrōnes'' (Κεύτρωνε� ...

and

Caturiges The Caturiges (Gaulish: ''Caturīges'', 'kings of combat') were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper Durance valley, around present-day towns of Chorges and Embrun, during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Catu ...

Name

Geography

History

References

Primary sources

Bibliography

See also